


Heart in Harbor

by Scorpius_Wears_Short_Skirts



Series: YCTH!Verse [15]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Cultural Differences, Drag Queens, Drinking & Talking, Emotional Constipation, F/M, First Love, Fluff and Smut, Genderfluid Character, Idiots in Love, Italian Mafia, M/M, Pirates, Romantic Fluff, Sailing, Self-Discovery, Sexuality Crisis, Sharing a Bed, deathmarks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:07:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23689675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scorpius_Wears_Short_Skirts/pseuds/Scorpius_Wears_Short_Skirts
Summary: Arackniss had some understanding of the fact gender didn't always line up with how you were born. He also knew he was straight.He was pretty sure he was straight....He might not be completely straight.
Relationships: Arackniss/Original Character
Series: YCTH!Verse [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569163
Comments: 64
Kudos: 206





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all seemed to like Tally and Brodie so now this exists.

Tally Hoe's required a membership card to get in. This was because Hell was full of angry and terrible people and places meant to be fun and safe were big targets. Arackniss did not have such a card but he was aware that his brother did. Stealing and replacing wallets was one of the simplest tasks Arackniss could manage without need of a gun.

It turned out he hadn't even needed to steal Angel's card, since Tally remembered his face and welcomed him in, giving him a card of his own. He looked around, a bit put off by the flashing lights and pounding music. The last time he had been in the building was during the day when it technically hadn't even been publicly open. All around him were demons dressed so ambiguously that he couldn't tell which ones were men or women or any variation thereof. That was probably the point, he realized after sitting in a dark corner by himself watching a large bearded woman perform some sort of monologue that he guessed was supposed to be comedic but he didn't really understand enough to find it funny. 

A few more people found the stage as Tally announced them, singing, dancing, or otherwise performing while the part of the crowd paying attention tossed tips. The part of the crowd not watching was dancing in groups, leaving pathways for workers to offer drinks to the few seated at tables. It only took a few performance changes to realize that those on stage and those bussing tables were the same people, working in rotation apparently. 

"Alright settle down babies," Tally clucked, having to calm the crowd after a particularly suggestive dance ended. "We got our favorite Officer coming aboard!" Someone toward the front of the stage made a very obscene sound and Tally jutted her microphone stand at them, flicking her glittered tailfeathers. "You behave, honey. You make a mess of my floor I'll make you lick it up." She warned sternly, though not without a smile.

Arackniss stood, deciding the adventure had been a waste of time until the awful headache inducing bass over the speakers cut off. It was enough to still him in his tracks as a whistle rang out and a spotlight followed a gerbil that swung down from the rafters onto the stage. He landed with a spin and a click, letting anyone who heard it know his boots had been fitted with taps even though they looked more like old work boots than traditional tap shoes. Very old, Arackniss noted, sitting down again as the gerbil lead the crowd through a jaunty tune about getting whipped over sleeping with a captain's daughter, encouraging everyone to copy his lyrics as he danced and played his pennywhistle.

While the other queens had performed for the crowd, Brodie was showing off his ability to perform _with_ the crowd, giving his audience a lead to follow. It was interesting, whimsical, and if Arackniss weren't stronger willed he may have even joined in the repeating bits of the song. He managed to stay still and quiet, though he couldn't help tapping the rhythm he'd picked up on against the table with his claws. 

Too soon the song was over and Brodie bowed. Leaving the stage while Arackniss left the bar.

Arackniss wasn't sure what had gotten into his head. He had always considered himself straight. He still did, but even so every free night he got he went to Tally Hoe's, bought nothing, talked to no one, and left as soon as Brodie's song and dance had ended. Soon he had even figured out the gerbil's schedule of performances almost down to the minute just so he wouldn't have to waste more time than necessary in the nauseating strobelight and migraine causing racket.

Aftereach performance, Arackniss stood outside to smoke before going home. This time, however, it was raining heavily and he couldn't get his lighter to ignite. Still he tried a few more times, just for the sake of having a routine and sticking to it. No luck, at least until a voice near him spoke up.

"Need a light?" The voice asked and Arackniss startled, looking over to Brodie himself.

Brodie smiled and held up a match, coated in wax to be waterproof. Arackniss swallowed and nodded, finding himself speechless as he took the offered stick. He struck it against the rough band of his watch and lit his cigarette. Before he put the match out, Brodie held a pipe out to him so Arackniss lit that too. 

"Noticed you hanging around lately." Brodie said before putting the pipe to his mouth, inhaling deeply and blowing the smoke through his nose. 

"I stay out of the way." Arackniss stated, feeling just a little defensive.

"That's why I noticed." Brodie admitted. "Not often I get to see a shy boy become a regular. Barely saw you at all at first, yer dark fur blends in." 

Arackniss took a long drag of his cigarette and sighed, having no response for that. He'd never been much of a talker. It was easier to just listen to someone else talk, or if the company was right even sharing silence could be nice. This was nice, he couldn't help but think even though the rain was cold and causing him to shiver.

"Get yer arse out the rain." Brodie said after a few minutes, tugging the spider's elbow. "You can come up in me cuddy if you want to." 

"What?" Arackniss squeaked, not sure how to take something so forward sounding.

It turned out less salacious than he assumed. 'Cuddy' apparently only meant the cozy room upstairs Brodie lived in. It was small and had an paradoxically organized sort of clutter. Several swords were mounted on one wall, ranging from rapiers to cutlasses and even a pair of matching daggers. There was also an antique pistol resting on top of a chest, well within arms reach of a netted hammock. More netting hung up on the wall behind the hammock looking a bit like ship's rigging and only further confirmed by the variant of a Jolly Roger hung up in the corner.

Brodie wasted no time pulling off his longcoat, hanging it up to dry. He took off his hat as well, shaking the water off oiled leather. Long curly black hair fell out from under it, tied in a loose ribbon which he tightened before putting his hat back on without bothering to tuck the ponytail back up. He then unbuttoned his vest, the constrictive fabric keeping his chest flat parting to reveal a more feminine shape. He coughed roughly once, taking a deep breath as he shed the vest entirely. A loose shirt and breeches remained, though Arackniss had begun to stare.

"Were you a Captain or somethin'?" He asked, averting his eyes quickly, remembering that staring at underdressed ladies, if Brodie even counted as such, was a good way to get shot. Or stabbed, considering the swords.

"Bo'sun." Brodie corrected and explained because he could guess a city boy wouldn't know. "Kept the ship in working condition. Relayed Captain's orders. Could've been First Mate if we sailed a bit longer. Thought to break away with me own ship and captain that but we all got caught up." He tapped his neck, a dark ring of fur around it glowing red for a moment.

"They cut your head off?" Arackniss asked, able to recognise a Deathmark when shown one. 

"Hanged, 1722." Brodie shrugged, falling into his hammock sideways and swinging. "Don't make a difference. Knew I'd die before I was old, just glad I got to see a bit of everywhere first."

"Shot in the back, 1954. I've only seen New York and this Ring of Hell." Arackniss admitted, sitting on the chest since there wasn't a chair. "They're pretty close to the same." 

"Never made port there." Brodie sighed. "Take yer damn jacket off. Getting me floor wet…" 

Arackniss hurriedly apologized, hanging up his outer layers. They weren't as waterproof as the other's however, so he was still soaked through to his skin. Seeing this, Brodie kicked a metal basin over. 

"Toss all yer clothes in." Brodie said. "Before you freeze."

"...All of them?" Arackniss asked dubiously.

"Yer fucking shy as shit, aren't you?" Brodie snickered. "I've been in closed quarters with upwards of thirty men. A naked arse ain't nothing new."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arackniss isn't sure how to handle this and Brodie being calm about everything isn't helping much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Procrastinating writing other shit I'm supposed to be writing by writing something barely related to get this sudden fixation out im sorry

"Thought this _wasn't_ a brothel." Arackniss muttered, now stark naked in nothing but his fur 

"Not asking payment, am I?" Brodie pointed out, amused. "If anything, yer giving me a show."

The gerbil's eyes didn't even wander, completely unphased by the nudity. Arackniss was surprised as he didn't have the same control. Brodie having less layers than he started with showed more of his shape, small but still apparent easy to notice through the thin shirt and his high waisted breeches made his hips impossible to ignore. Still, with how he carried himself and the make-up on his face that colored the fur around his mouth into a marking like a curled mustache, Brodie seemed quite a bit like a man.

"I'm not gay." Arackniss blurted out, halfway to himself.

Brodie began to laugh, the sort most people called 'ugly laughter' but that Arackniss found charming even if at the moment he also felt a bit insulted. 

"I'm not getting you out of your skins to have a romp with you." Brodie assured. "Wet fur's worse than a bullet stuck in yer shoulder. Besides, I'm not a man all the time."

Arackniss inwardly grimaced, feeling like he had probably offended. He looked toward the floor, picking at his fingers between all four hands. When he looked up again Brodie was cleaning the mascara off his lip and his shirt had come off at some point in the past few seconds. The ribbon had also come loose again, lower in his hair and letting a bit of it escape. 

"You _can_ use the towel." Brodie said, pointing to a space in front of Arackniss where sure enough there was a striped towel. 

Given the obvious distraction, he had missed the fact that the towel even existed. He picked it up, vigorously scrubbing himself as dry as he could. He then pulled the towel around his hips to cover up, sitting back down on the chest. Brodie just watched, taking the ribbon the rest of the way out of his hair to wind around his wrist for safekeeping.

"You aren't gay." Brodie repeated. "But you come in a drag bar near to nightly, watch a king get everyone riled up even though yer clearly not comfortable with yer surroundings. And then you walk out as soon as the king does." He pointed out as he got the last of the mascara off his lip. "You may not be gay but yer not too strict on having only women, are you?" 

"You did say you're a woman with your clothes off when we met." Arackniss tried to justify. 

"I'm not a woman all the time." Brodie said, looking just a bit confused before shrugging it off.

"Then what the fuck are you?" Arackniss asked sharply, getting tired of being so confused. "I got a neiphew who's both at once. Is that what you are?"

"I'm both." Brodie agreed, but only to a degree. "Not at once, though." 

Arackniss could wrap his head around that, at least. He wasn't sure how to tell when Brodie was what though. Was he just supposed to ask every day? Would he even be allowed to have contact with this infuriatingly intriguing person that often or was this a one time event due to a lot of rain and a little pity.

"Why invite me up here?" He finally asked.

"Because with you showing up so often just for me…" Brodie began, but trailed off thoughtfully. "Most guys showin' up fer specific dancers get pushy. I've had to shoot a few what tried gettin' too friendly with me." He said, waving a hand toward the pistol resting next to where Arackniss sat. "You didn't even try talkin' to me before tonight, even though I know you only come in to watch me. Suppose I got curious and it helps that you're cute."

"Could wind up with a stalker doin' that." Arackniss scolded.

"Yer not a stalker." Brodie said with such confidence that Arackniss knew he believed it. He wasn't wrong, of course. Arackniss knew better than to bother anyone who didn't want to be bothered. Before he could think of anything else, Brodie had stood and stepped around, resting his weight on his hands at either side of the spider's legs. His untethered hair fell over his shoulders as he leaned close, and his thin, tufted tail whipped behind him, drawing Arackniss's eyes to the movement. Their faces were close, enough for Arackniss to feel the other's breath which smelled like rum and pure tobacco that hadn't been stuffed with bitter chemicals like his own cigarettes were. Inviting, in a word. Arackniss expected to be kissed, and he didn't have the will to pull away.

"Right, yer not gay." Brodie said simply, backing off just as quickly as he had crowded him. "I've got clothes that should fit you, mostly. Have to cut extra holes fer arms but it's better than nothing. My coat'll keep the water off you."

"I really can't take--" Arackniss began to protest, but Brodie was already shoving dry clothes into his arms.

"Go home. Yer clothes'll be dry by morning." Brodie said, not even upset even though he was practically tossing Arackniss out. He even went as far as to help the spider dress, dropping his tricorner on the other's head. "If yer lucky maybe I'll be a woman by then." He winked, letting Arackniss know there were no hard feelings.

Arackniss grumbled under his breath the whole way to his car. He got in, tossing the hat and coat into the passenger's seat. He glared at the set, wondering how his afterlife had taken such a weird turn. Then his gaze softened and he sighed. It wasn't Brodie's fault that Arackniss was having a crisis, he knew. It was bound to happen eventually, it was just Brodie who happened to set it off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arackniss is having a hard time knowing what to think and Tally has a talk with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the 40s the italian and irish mafias Did Not like eachother. Not that Arackniss gives a shit anymore...

Arackniss had to go back to Tally's eventually. Just to return the clothes he'd had to borrow, he told himself. Just drop off the garments and leave all the confusion behind. He still ended up putting it off for days, though he couldn't focus on marks and eventually Henroin put him off duty entirely since he was so distracted. 

It was daytime when he went, the off hours, but Tally still let him in at the sight of the leather tricorner in his hand. 

"He doesn't let just anyone wear her hat." Tally said, and Arackniss noticed the mid-sentence pronoun switch. He wondered if that was how he was to refer to Brodie when they weren't present to say which it was for the time being. "Go on up, baby. Brodie's in his room. Fourth door."

He remembered which room was Brodie's easily even without the direction, and knocked quietly. Brodie answered the door in a nightgown, hair braided to keep it from tangling while sleeping, and Arackniss was acutely aware that he had probably woken the gerbil up. Of course he had, considering Brodie worked nights. She didn't seem to mind the disturbance, grinning at the sight of him.

"If yer here to see if I'm a woman yet, you've got good timing." Brodie pulled him in by the lapel and shut her door.

"Just here to give your clothes back." Arackniss said quietly, hanging the coat up and handing over the rest.

Brodie chuckled, putting the hat on her head and letting out a sigh of what sounded like relief. "Been feeling naked without me hat."

"Why let me borrow it, then?" Arackniss asked. 

"Knew I might've scared you off. Wanted you to have a reason to come back." Brodie admitted. 

"I could have kept it." Arackniss pointed out.

"I was gonna give you a few more days 'til tracking you and takin' it back meself." Brodie admitted, and Arackniss couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

Without warning Brodie began to change out of her nightgown and into dayclothes. Arackniss looked away, wondering if a lack of modesty was a sailor thing, a pirate thing, or just a Brodie thing. He didn't want to ask, and simply waited for her to be done. Her outfit now wasn't much different from the sort she performed in, though she'd switched the pants for a skirt that ended just above her ankles and the vest that kept her chest flat was gone and replaced with a loose corset.

"I don't mind you looking." Brodie said. "You've seen me bosom already anyway." 

"Bit different when you're a man." Arackniss shrugged.

"I suppose it is." Brodie said with a smile, and Arackniss was glad to see he'd apparently said the right thing. "While I was a man you couldn't tear yer eyes away."

A rooster's crow rang out, audible easily through the floor and certainly belonging to Tally. Brodie answered by stomping her boot twice. 

"Got me up and dressed before Mum did." Brodie chuckled. "Got chores to do but you can hang around if yer day's got nothing better in it." 

"You've got chores here? Isn't work enough?" Arackniss asked.

Brodie gave him a confused and oddly stern look. "I live here."

"Right…" Arackniss said, realising how foolish he sounded.

He didn't linger for long, having dropped off the borrowed clothes as he had planned. 

Arackniss did go back to his usual pattern of coming in during the night to watch Brodie's performances. He was starting to learn a few of the catchier songs without meaning to which explained the crowd of other bar customers joining in the songs so easily. Arackniss never sang along during the performances, but did catch himself idly whistling the tunes of them to himself while working.

The whistling caught a glare from Henroin more than once which made Arackniss realise that Brodie was clearly irish. He halfway wondered what Henroin would be more disappointed by, the fact Arackniss was losing his mind over someone irish or the fact that Arackniss was less straight than initially thought. And then Arackniss quickly put a stop to that train of thought because there was no way Henroin would be meeting Brodie in that sense anyway. They'd seen each other once because of a ridiculous plan of Angel's and there was no reason to have them in the same room any longer.

Arackniss's thoughts of absolutely never bringing Brodie home to meet his father were interrupted by the large rooster of a queen sitting down at the table in the corner Arackniss always used. Tally smiled at him before speaking over the loud music.

"How long are you gonna wait for him to talk to you again?" She asked. 

"I don't know." Arackniss admitted. "He's--Brodie's a he right now, right? He confuses the shit out of me. I feel like he's playing with me."

"Oh, he is." Tally clucked. "He likes to play. Likes to have fun with the people he likes." 

"Plural…" Arackniss huffed. "Of course." 

Tally frowned at that and sighed. "Let me put it better. Think about when you were alive. What did you look like?"

Arackniss didn't see what that had to do with anything, but answered simply. "I had black hair, brown eye--"

"No. Those are easy." Tally cut him off. "Your _face._ " 

Arackniss scoffed, but once he thought of it and really tried to remember. Colors were easy but he couldn't quite wrap his mind around the shapes of his face. Tally gave him a moment to think before continuing on. 

"Your mother's face. Your brother's, sister's." She prompted, but everyone he thought of he could only see blurs. "You can't quite get them can you?"

"What does that matter?" He snapped.

"Brodie's been here longer than you." Tally answered. "Around three hundred years. Children, they feel like an hour lasts a year. Adults feel like a year barely last an hour. How do you think Brodie feels, with how long he's existed?"

Arackniss had no answer for that, but he was very aware of what he was being told. He knew well enough that with exterminations it was rare to see Sinners that had made it past the hundredth year mark. Those that had you couldn't tell how old they were because they had modernised and adapted to the changing times. Brodie, with his shipready attire and behaviors, was still clearly clinging to the time he'd lived.

"He's lost his whole crew, in pieces, over the years. His first real taste of family's been taken from him by Angels. He couldn't move on so I took him home, gave him a space where he doesn't _have_ to. Even though everything around him has." Tally continued after a time. "I turn the stereo off so he can play his own music. He runs through his chores like he's still on a ship, my only kid who won't complain about having to sweep the glitter off the damn floor. Still every bit a pirate." She said, a proud smile on her beak. "First rule of the code he lives by is to choose his friends very carefully, and so of course he's going to play with the few he makes. He needs to have fun with you because he knows the second he takes his eyes off you, you'll be gone like the rest of his friends."

"I don't know if we're friends." Arackniss dismissed.

"He let you wear his hat." Tally said, standing. "He don't even let _me_ touch it. Anyway he sent me to tell you not to run off after he sings."

So Arackniss waited. It took a few minutes between the end of Brodie's song and dance and for her to actually come over to the table. She'd changed into a dress and cleaned off the mustache after her performance, which explained the wait. 

"I've got a free few days in a bit." She said without even bothering to spare a greeting. "Would you like to see me boat?"

Arackniss agreed without a thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brodie experiences a car and Arackniss steps out of his comfort zone for a good cause

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a fun version of the song in this chapter: https://youtu.be/72JMVvF-EYQ

Brodie had intended to walk the full fifty or so miles it would take to get out of Pentagram City to get to the Sekhmet Sea. Arackniss was not willing to walk all that way, certain it would be tiring and waste a lot of the time that Brodie had free of work. Besides, Arackniss had a car.

The car was a 1949 Mercury, well kept though still showing its age in the fact sometimes Arackniss had to pull over and give the front of it a good kick to knock something back into place. Still, it was mostly reliable and while Arackniss didn't give much thought to his own scruffy appearance he did have a streak of vanity reserved for keeping the car looking as shiny as the day he'd got it.

Brodie was curious, more so than Aracknis had ever seen anyone be about a car, but he supposed he should have expected as much. He let her do as she liked, poking at the rim of the front tires and trying to see into the unlit headlights. It was sort of cute, Arackniss thought as he opened the passenger door. Brodie tossed the bag she'd brought with her into the back seat and sat down in the front.

"Watch your dress." He said, letting Brodie get her skirt out of the way of the door before shutting it.

Arackniss circled around to get into the driver's seat, and Brodie jolted as soon as Arackniss turned the key. He didn't blame her. He was used to the engine but understood it was pretty loud. Taking his foot off the break got an even more nervous response as the car began to roll.

"Never been in a car?" 

"Only parked ones." Brodie admitted. 

"Can't be much different from a boat." Arackniss said softly, "Just a vehicle."

"I've seen cars explode and ram into each other. Boats take more to break. Yer more likely to drown than get crushed or blown up on a boat, I'm sure." Brodie pointed out. While she was a bit in awe at the science behind the invention of cars, it was clear she was also a bit scared. 

The best cure for fear, in Arackniss's experience, was embracing it. He'd been afraid of guns until he'd been taught to shoot. He'd been afraid of spiders until he came to terms with being one. Surely having a part in operating the car would help Brodie relax, he was sure. And the car was a stick shift, so there was an easy way to do that.

"Here," Arackniss said, taking his hand off the wheel and holding it out.

Brodie took his hand without hesitation, and he guided it over the lever for the gearshift, holding her hand over it. He went through the numbers and neutral, which Brodie caught onto quickly. It got to where she could shift gears to whichever number he told her, but he didn't remove his hand from on top of hers. She didn't need the guidance, but she didn't tell him to remove the point of contact and he took it for the unsaid allowance that it was.

Still, Brodie was noticeably tense. Determined for Brodie to have a nice time on this long drive he did something he normally never did because he knew his voice was weak and he was sure he was near to tone deaf. 

_"I came home on a monday night,"_ Arackniss sang, just loud enough to be audible and quite a bit flat. _"As drunk as drunk could be._  
 _I saw a horse outside the door_  
 _Where my own horse should be…"_

_"So I calls me wife and I says to her,"_ Brodie continued, not missing a beat because the song was one of her favorites. Her own voice was bold and rough, though the good sort that made a singer sound husky. Not a conventional 'pretty' voice but still one that deserved every bit of attention it got. _"Would you kindly tell to me,_  
 _Who owns that horse outside the door,_  
 _Where me own horse should be?"_

_"Ah, yer drunk, yer drunk_  
 _You silly old fool!"_ They sang together.  
 _"So drunk you cannot see!_  
 _That's a lowly sow that me mother sent to me!"_

_"Well there's many a day I've travelled,_   
_A hundred miles or more!_   
_But a saddle on a sow's a sight I never saw before!"_

They got through the whole week of the song and it had the desired effect. Brodie had forgotten she was nervous at all and though Arackniss felt pretty self conscious about his less than passable singing it was worth the smile he got out of it. He was even having fun by the time the song got to wednesday's verse.

"Yer gonna have to stop the car before we get to the beach." Brodie advised. "Not sure yer tires'll keep."

It was good advice. Sekhmet Sea was bordered by a beach full of jagged rocks, metal shards, and broken glass instead of sand. Arackniss was glad Brodie had reminded him to wear thick boots as the pirate led the mobster around to an old and broken beached ship. Arackniss had seen the big boat in passing a few times, never thinking much of it and never getting close enough to wonder what the gaping hole in the hull could be hiding within it. Brodie, knowing very well, walked right in. 

Sitting in about a foot of water was a sloop, only big enough to hold a few people and small enough to be sailed by just one. Despite being small it still had a lot of detail put into it. The front of it, the figurehead just under the netted bowsprit, was an intricate carving of an octopus. On the stern where a boat's name was commonly written, was a simple but noticeable etching of a skeleton. Looking closer, Arackniss could tell the sloop had been scrapped together from parts of the far bigger ship. 

"Damn." Arackniss said, impressed.

"Like her?" Brodie asked. "Built her meself." She reported proudly, though Arackniss had already guessed as much. "She's the Revenant. Can't move her yet but once tide starts in we'll be able to pull her out her mum." 

"That's a weird way to phrase that…" Arackniss couldn't help but point out, though the analogy did make perfect sense.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two get out on the water and chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pirates historically said fuck gender.

They had to rock the Revenant as the tide came in to get it unstuck from the sharp pseudo-sand before Brodie grabbed onto the netting under the bowsprit and threw her weight back away from it. It took a few tries but the boat finally pulled free. Arackniss helped her guide it out of the hull of the bigger ship, though help was a strong word as he didn't really know what he was doing. It didn't seem to matter much as they got the little sloop out without much issue by the time the tide had got up to their knees.

"Climb aboard!" Brodie cheered, not waiting before hauling the spider up onto her shoulder and tossing him up onto the deck.

He landed on his ass with no small amount of shock. They were both around the same size and while he knew the pirate had to be strong on some level the fact that she could throw someone her own size so easily was impressive. He pulled himself to stand, wobbling as the boat rocked.

She pulled herself aboard soon after and climbed up the single mast, pulling tied sails free and spreading them. The adjustments were felt immediately as the sails caught wind and the boat lurched, causing Arackniss to lose what little precarious balance he had and he tipped over sideways to hit the deck with his shoulder.

"Fuckin'..." He muttered, pushing himself up and nearly falling again. "How in Hell?"

"Don't lock yer knees." Brodie advised as she moved about, tying some things down in place. "Give yerself a bit and keep tryin' but don't think about it too much. Yer body'll figure it out far before yer brain does." She jumped down next to the horizontal bit of wood the main sail attached to, patting it. "And watch out fer the boom. It'll knock you down if the wind changes." 

It took a solid half an hour and holding onto something constantly before Arackniss could walk a nearly straight line across the deck. By that time Brodie had swapped his skirt for breeches which were in the bag he brought along, as well as a pail of boiled peanuts which he happily shared with the spider. 

"Yer catchin' on fast." Brodie praised as Arackniss walked around the perimeter of the boat, but yanked him back by the collar when he stopped behind the cannon mounted at the stern. "You never walk that close to the back of a cannon. The got a kick worse than a cow." 

"It ain't loaded is it?" Arackniss asked, not sure why it mattered.

"You can shoot, right? Don't you treat yer guns as live even if they ain't?" Brodie pointed out. "Give a cannon three feet at least unless you want shattered legs." 

"My guns are always loaded, but I got it." Arackniss conceded. 

"We want to keep shore in sight." Brodie continued. "Don't want to end up where the water's too deep and there's always a storm further out." 

"Probably loads of sharks…" Arackniss said thoughtfully, looking into the water over the side and scanning their surroundings for the telltale sight of a dorsal fin. He didn't see any but that didn't mean they weren't there.

"Sharks usually ain't too bad." Brodie shrugged, finally settling at the wheel to turn it to take the boat further out. "They only care we're here if they catch a whiff of blood. The real bothers are kraken and leviathan."

"The fuck is a leviathan?" Arackniss asked, having heard of kraken and remembering it to be some monstrous squid but having never heard of the other.

"A right bastard." Brodie chuckled. "Big fuck off eel covered in spines and a mouthfull of pincers. Saw one eatin' a kraken. Good thing too, kept its attention off me. Another reason we don't want to get too far from shore." 

Arackniss tried to imagine that, and the best image his mind could make was something like a sea dragon. He guessed his mental image was probably close enough and definitely didn't want to see the real thing. "Are there mermaids?" He asked, prefering a lighter topic. 

"Sure." Brodie confirmed. "Mermaids, nixxies, nokk, cecealians, all sorts. Most of those are Sinners what died at sea. Some of them come to land and adapt if they can find their way but some don't come down with gills and they just drown over and over since they can't stay dead. Every now and again I'll find one if they haven't sunk too low to see." 

"You just go fishing for people?" 

"If they fall into Lust ring of Hell over the ocean with no way to survive the water it usually means they're a rapist, a slaver, or worse." Brodie grunted, pulling his pipe out of his pocket. "They can keep fuckin' drownin'." 

Arackniss couldn't help but agree with that. "Why are you in Hell?" 

"Pirate." Brodie answered easily. "Spent me life killin' and stealin' just like the rest."

"I was killing and stealing too." Arackniss admitted. "Just stayed on land... They let a girl on? Or were you a man that whole time?"

"Started out dressed as a boy to sneak on a Navy ship. Was told sailors get fed and I was jus' some poor kid starvin' and they weren't takin girls. Got pretty comfortable livin' as a boy. Not long after, the ship got sunk by pirates and they found out I was a girl. Navy crew was mad about that so when the pirates gave the survivin' crew a raft to leave by I got left behind." Brodie explained as he tapped the old ashes out of his pipe and filled it with fresh tobacco he had in a tin. He lit it and leaned against the rail with a smile, looking horribly nostalgic. "The pirates didn't care I was a girl. They saw I could pull me own weight as crew and hold me own in a fight. Few of them were girls too. Usually someone's wife but still expected to work. I was single of course, but no matter. Still got a fair share of everythin' and no one cared how I was dressed so I was happy. Worked me way up in rank and nobody thought twice about callin' me 'sir' and followin' orders when I had the respect to be givin' them."

"Single, of course?" Arackniss repeated, happy to listen and curiosly prompting the other to keep talking.

"Of course." Brodie nodded, sighing. "Sex is nice but everyone just wants me one way, not both, so I never got attached or let it mean more than just a few minutes of lettin' off steam. There was one man I really liked. John, I think his name was… Or maybe Jack? James? Somethin' with a J at least, but it's been so long… Most liked me better as a woman but he liked me better as a man so I thought fer a while he could've been it. Then he ended up gettin' married to the Captain." 

"I think he just liked you as a Boston, then." Arackniss said. "Rank before beauty?"

"Bo'sun, you arse." Brodie corrected with a laugh.

"Well you're runnin' this ship. I'd say that makes you a Captain now?" Arackniss guessed. 

"Captain with no crew's a sad lot of shit." Brodie grunted.

"You have a crew of two." Arackniss pointed out. "Me and you. So that makes me First Mate, right?"

"Nah. Yer a ship's boy til you can race me up the rigging." Brodie said, shoving the spider and shucking his boots to climb up the netting that covered the mainsail.

Arackniss huffed on mock offense and followed him up, thanking his spidery body for the ability of his hands sticking to the rope since he really didn't want to fall.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have a nice day out on the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My middle school pirate phase has come back to haunt me in the form of a genderfluid demon gerbil...

Arackniss wasn't sure if he was earning his sealegs, as Brodie put it, or if he was getting tipsy enough that the ringer booze put his balance through was cancelling out the rocking of the boat but he could almost walk a straight line. Brodie had cracked open a crate full of bottles that varied from whiskey to guiness and over half was rum. They'd started off seeing who could drink faster before relaxing and just idly chatting for a while until Arackniss got it in his head to start showing off.

Brodie knew everything there was to know about sailing and could handle a sword like it was part of him, but Arackniss was a sharp shooter and didn't even have to aim. The emptied bottles wound up in a line on the railing, somehow staying put despite the rolling waves.

"You put any holes in me boat and I'll throw yer arse overboard." Brodie teased.

Arackniss didn't miss a single bottle. He shattered six in five seconds, not even using the pistol's sight. Not a single bullet hit wood, so he didn't have to see if Brodie would make good on the threat. They both ended up taking turns shooting the bottles they drank through well until it started to get dark. 

"You gotta be home tonight?" Brodie asked.

"No." Arackniss answered, not really sure but willing to put up with a lecture about mob duties as a price of taking Brodie up on the invitation to stay. 

"Only one cot." Brodie said. "Don't mind sharin' but I'll take you back to shore if you'd rather go home." 

If Arackniss had been completely sober he might have chosen to go home. If Brodie had been anyone else he wouldn't have even got on a boat in the first place. But as it was, he was drunk off of rum, high on his present company, and too happy to give a shit about the possible emotional consequences it might cause later.

"I'll stay." 

Brodie smiled and set the anchor free to drop so they wouldn't drift in the night. He also showed Arackniss how to properly roll and tie down the sails. Once that was done Brodie pulled a cot out of a hatch in the deck to set it up. The sloop was too small to have a proper belowdeck so what space there was was reserved for storage. They'd be sleeping under open sky, but that was no problem.

While Brodie set things up for the night, Arackniss turned his phone on. He'd had it off to save battery, knowing there would be no way to charge it. He had four missed calls, three from his father and one from Molly. Molly had also sent him a text asking where he was. He dialed to call her back and she answered on the second ring.

 _"Archie, where are you?"_ She asked. 

"On a boat." Arackniss answered, shrugging even though his sister couldn't see him.

_"On a--You can't fuckin' swim!"_

"Pretty sure that's what the boat's for. It's fine. I'm with a friend." Arackniss replied dryly. "I'll be back some time tomorrow. Tell dad I'll handle the Dover deal later."

 _"You don't have friends."_ Molly huffed. _"You hate people… Is it a girl?"_

"Sort of." 

_"...A boy?!"_

"Sort of?" Arackniss said, less sure-sounding as he looked over at Brodie who was now sitting on the cot and smiling at Arackniss as he listened to the half of the conversation he could hear. "At the moment he is. Don't worry about it. I'm just checkin' in so Dad doesn't send a fuckin' search party."

 _"I'm telling Angel."_ Molly laughed. _"You're not the straight one anymore!"_

"Oh fuck off, Molly." Arackniss huffed and hung up before she could continue to tease. 

"Not keepin' you from a wife, am I?" Brodie asked playfully. 

"Nah, it was my sister wondering where I went." Arackniss shrugged and turned his phone off so he wouldn't waste the battery.

Arackniss hadn't considered the fact that cots were quite a bit more narrow than a standard bed, so sharing the cot meant quite a bit more contact than he was expecting. Brodie didn't seem to mind, but Arackniss had a suspicion that Brodie had no sense of personal space to go along with the already established lack of modesty. Pretending he wasn't horribly overthinking things, he joined the rodent on the cot and together they found a way to share comfortably.

So close they were practically stacked chest to chest, Arackniss couldn't help but notice Brodie was pure muscle. It was such a stark contrast to what he was used to, what he was used to being much softer bodied women. He could admit, just to himself, that it was a nice difference. Oddly comfortable even, and he snuggled closer without thinking. _Blame it on the drink,_ he decided as he was getting too drowsy to really care. A chuckle reverberated in the spider's ear, sounding deeper than it really was because he was hearing it through Brodie's chest, his head on his sternum. A hand came to pet his hair, affection Arackniss wasn't used to and unaware that he needed until it had him choked up. _Just blame it on the drink,_ he thought again.

"If yer gonna think so loud you may as well talk." Brodie said quietly. "What's on yer mind?"

"A lot." Arackniss admitted. "Mostly cuz of you… How did you know you were a man _and_ a woman?"

"Things just lined up right fer me to figure it out." Brodie answered easily. "Wantin' somethin's a good indication and I want to be certain things at certain times. Seen certain ways."

"I've been wanting to kiss you all day…" Arackniss said softly. 

"When I was a lady or now while I'm a man?" Brodie asked.

"Both ways." Arackniss admitted.

"Huh," Brodie hummed thoughtfully. "Well what the fuck's stoppin' you?"

"Confusion mostly." 

"Ah, yer not confused." Brodie assured. "Yer just used to lettin' other people tell you what yer allowed." 

Arackniss didn't get to form a response to that as Brodie's mouth found his, and it was just as sweet and odd as he expected it to be. Better, even.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arackniss still isn't sure whats going on and the headache isn't helping but he's almost got it figured out.

Arackniss woke up with a splitting headache, the dull morning sky of Hell feeling far brighter and more nauseating than it had any right to be. The rocking of the ship didn't help. He rolled over, intending to go back to sleep and wait for his hangover to stop being so severe, but that only led to him falling off of the cot since the boat picked that moment to lurch sharply forward, and there was no other body to stop his momentum.

Arackniss groaned against the wood of the deck to look around for Brodie. The rodent was nowhere on the deck, and an upward squint also yielded nothing. There was no belowdeck that a person could fit in, so Arackniss was quick to his feet, anxiety spiking as he wondered if Brodie had fallen overboard. Arackniss scrambled to the closest rail, toward the bow, and peered over.

"Naughty!" He was scolded, as Brodie was settled in the netting under the bowsprit partially submerged in the seawater and entirely naked. "Peepin' at a lady bathin'. Should be ashamed of yerself, mate." She teased, flicking water at him with her tail.

"I thought you fell over!" Arackniss defended, covering his multitude of eyes.

Internally, he thanked her for going ahead and saying what she was for the moment so he could avoid the awkwardness of asking. He'd been intending to go by whether she was wearing a skirt or pants, but that didn't help at all if she was wearing nothing. He wondered if she had referred to herself as a lady specifically for that purpose. She seemed intuitive that way.

"Ah, I'm only teasin'." Brodie laughed. "I don't mind you lookin', you know. Could've looked last night if you'd asked. Was in a right mood to let you touch, even." She continued.

Arackniss's fur puffed up involuntarily and he pushed himself away from the rail so Brodie was out of his sight. It didn't stop them from hearing each other.

"If I just wanted to fuck you, I think you gave me the chance that time you let me in your room?" Arackniss pointed out. 

"Aye," Brodie confirmed. 

"Then it would've been a one night stand and I'd've never talked to you again. I don't make a habit of gettin' attached to people, but…" Arackniss shrugged. "I ain't tryin' to get you out of my system, you feel me? You're _fun_."

"Here I was thinkin' you were bein' polite about me bein' a man at the time." Brodie said, pulling herself back aboard. "Since yer straight." 

"I don't know about that anymore." Arackniss admitted as he did let himself actually look. "If we're drawing sexuality as lines, mine's mostly straight? But then with a little squiggle in it?" The longer he spoke the sillier he felt, so he chose that point to shut up.

"I'm yer squiggle?" Brodie snorted. Her fur was soaked through and her hair was loose and falling around her face in messy ringlets. She gathered her hair to wring it out, then tied it back with the ribbon that had been tied around her wrist. She also put on a skirt, but hiked it up and tucked the hem of it into the waist at one side to keep it out of the way of her legs as she climbed up the mast to free the sails.

Arackniss sighed, realizing how stupid that sounded but not having a better description. He didn't know the proper words for all the shit he was feeling, he just knew it was all Brodie's fault. He could ask Angel for the correct terms but then he'd never hear the end of it, not that he would anyway once Molly ran her mouth. If she hadn't already done so. Unlikely.

"Yeah." Arackniss said, rolling his eyes. "I guess you're my squiggle." 

"Yer weird." Brodie snickered, dropping to the deck and pulling the anchor up and waving a hand toward the helm. "Turn her back to shore?" She asked.

Arackniss shuffled over to turn the wheel, finding it a lot harder to do so than it looked when he'd seen Brodie do it. The damn thing was _heavy_ , so he had to shove it and struggle to hold it.

"She'll fight you." Brodie mused, though Arackniss had figured that out already.

"This why you're strong as shit?" Arackniss asked. "How often do you go sailing?" 

"Just when I can spare from Tally's. Few days out of every few months. Usually have to waste time on the walk so thanks fer drivin'." Brodie answered. "Most of the muscle work there falls to me and I'll take on the girls' chores to keep busy."

"You could get a car." Arackniss pointed out.

"You see how nervous I got just bein' in one." Brodie countered. "Probably worse when yer tryin' to pay attention to not runnin' into anything."

"I'll drive you next time then?" Arackniss offered. "You could write down your schedule so I know when to--"

"Can't."

"It's that unpredictable?" Arackniss asked, surprised. "I've got your performin' times memorized to the minute!" 

"No, Mum's got everything set like clockwork." Brodie corrected. "I can't write it down. Can't read." 

"Oh." Arackniss hummed and supposed he should have guessed that much. Girls in the 1700s dressing as boys to become sailors and growing up to be pirates probably wouldn't have had time for proper education. Still, to be around 300 years in existence without learning seemed to be quite a bit of time wasted. "You haven't tried to learn?"

"Well I never needed to at first. Mum tried teachin' me when she figured out but nothin' sticks." Brodie shrugged. "I can do maths alright, numbers is easy."

"Well tell me when we get back to the car and _I'll_ write it down." Arackniss decided, still trying to keep the boat steady as shore came closer. 

Brodie finally put a shirt and boots on, then took over the helm before Arackniss got too close to beaching the sloop. It was tricky business to get the sloop back into the bigger ship, but Brodie had done it enough to know how to hit the right time where tide was high enough to steer the sloop in and low enough not to knock out the mast. 

"Got time fer breakfast? Wherever you want. My treat." Brodie offered, securing the Revenant so it wouldn't drift out again.

Arackniss huffed. "I ain't gonna make a lady pay."

"Yer gonna regret that. I eat like a horse." Brodie warned.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arackniss takes Brodie out for breakfast but it doesnt go as planned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what im doing anymore and i cant focus on anything just have this.

Brodie handled being in a car better the second time and the drive to a small, out of the way diner was easy enough. It was one of several small businesses owned by the Altobello family, a front for laundering to circulate the fakes and bring in the real money, but still with pretty good food. Arackniss really didn't go many places that weren't owned by the family aside from Tally Hoe's, so he wasn't sure where else to go. Luckily Brodie didn't seem too picky.

Of course luck always evened out and Frank was working the counter, one of the few of the family that had turned out something other than a spider upon his descent into Hell. As a scorpion he was close enough though. At hearing Brodie speak to order, peach pie for breakfast of all things, he gestured to pull Arackniss to the side.

"Is this a damn joke?" Frank asked.

"I don't have a sense of humor that I'm aware of." Arackniss answered dryly. 

"Don't sass me soldato." Frank warned. 

"She ain't a McGinty." Arackniss defended, knowing Brodie was far too old to be involved in the same mob bullshit that had followed his own family down. She could be an ancestor maybe, but wasn't personally involved. He didn't see why a bit of an accent and nothing else had his Uncle so tail-twitchy. "Let her have some damn pie." 

"To go." Frank huffed. "Get her out of here." 

Arackniss rolled his eyes as he watched Frank take a pre-cut piece from the fridge, not even bothering to warm it up before tossing it halfhazardly into a box and shoving it toward the smaller spider. He took it, not bothering to ask for anything for himself, and waved for Brodie to follow him out.

"Frank's an ass. Sorry." He apologized.

"I'm used to it." Brodie shrugged. "Nobody wants a pirate in a shop. Dirties the whole place up." 

Arackniss didn't feel like telling her it was because of the simpler and less controllable fact that she was audibly irish. It shouldn't have mattered. Just an old feud that had gone on since the 40s and probably earlier. It shouldn't have carried over after death but that was Mafia life. There was no getting out of it and the Family's problems were the individuals problems, and vice versa. Arackniss could think it stupid all he wanted but he still had to follow orders. 

"Where are we goin' now?" Brodie asked, looking out the window curiously. 

Arackniss hadn't even realised he was driving toward his own little space toward the center of the city. It was a sort of mix between an office and a small studio apartment. He'd started driving on autopilot while he was thinking. It was sort of home to him, just as much as his father's house was. A place to rest between constant work. Both jobs his father assigned and petty detective work he had started in life to keep actual police off his ass. He didn't get much detective work done anymore since no one in Hell really gave a shit about solving crimes, and for Arackniss it wasn't even about crimes anyway. He liked mysteries and puzzles. Things to think about that always had an answer. 

"Was gonna stop by my place." Arackniss shrugged, trying to make it seem like he'd headed that way on purpose and realised he hadn't eaten and cold pie hardly counted as breakfast. "I could cook you somethin'?" He offered. "Or I could take you right to Tally's if you wanna go home." 

"You've been in my cuddy. I'd like to see yers." Brodie said with a grin. "I've got all day before Mum needs me back." 

It wasn't much, Arackniss could afford better. But he didn't need better. The pipes didn't leak, the stove worked, and the neighbors kept their volume minimal so he liked the place just fine. It wasn't like he needed a lot of room. A bed, a chair, a desk, a bookshelf, and a decent kitchenette with a fridge that had the water on the door for some reason Arackniss didn't understand but wouldn't complain about. 

Brodie took immediate interest in the pictures on the walls, one portrait of each of his siblings and one of all three of them together outside of a planked up building the twins had taken him to for his birthday. Brodie tapped the picture of Angel.

"I know this bloke. Brings his kids in sometimes."

"That's my little brother." Arackniss answered.

"Little." Brodie rolled her eyes. "May as well be a damn giraffe."

It was the first time in a while that anyone had called his siblings tall instead of calling Arackniss short. Brodie was likewise on the smaller side as far as demons go, but it was still something Arackniss was kind of happy to hear. Enough people literally looked down on him. It was a welcome change to feel on equal footing. He smiled to himself and opened the fridge to check what he had to work with. He had enough to make something close enough to cornetti so that's what he tried for. It came out closer to just marmalade filled rolls but considering it was unplanned and short notice he deemed it good enough.

Brodie certainly had no complaints, so Arackniss counted it as a win. He also made coffee, which led him to learn that Brodie considered sweeter better. He quietly agreed and she ended up splitting the pie slice from the diner with him. She normally wouldn't have wanted pie for breakfast but she just loved peaches. They had been a rare treat in life to break up the monotony of rations stolen from other ships, she explained, the first sweet thing she could remember ever eating. Arackniss was happy to listen.

Eventually they both had to get to work so Arackniss drove Brodie home. She kissed him goodbye, a brief but important gesture that stuck in his mind all day that kept him in good spirits even when his father called his siblings to help him due to the fact he'd been slacking lately. 

"Oh my god." Molly said when she noticed the look on her older brother's face. She tapped Angel and pointed.

"What the fuck?" Angel said as he noticed what she had.

"Oh my god?" Molly repeated.

"What the fuck!" Angel exclaimed. "Archie, are you smilin'?" 

"Fuck off." Arackniss said instead of answering, though he couldn't get his expression to the usual stone mask of indifference he was used to projecting. "Can you two focus for five fuckin' seconds?"

"No." Angel answered, painfully honest. "Not with you smilin' like that. Usually if you smile at all it's some kind of mean."

"Or you pulled off some impossible shot." Molly said, referring to guns.

"Did…" Angel started, nearly laughing but quickly composing himself to finish his sentence which was _not_ about guns. "Did you pull off an impossible shot?"

"That's none of your business." Arackniss huffed.

Angel's eyes widened, clearly jumping to conclusions in his head. "You dog! I'm proud of you!" 

"The outer wall's got cameras everywhere except the front door so we gotta get in the Dover house friendly-like." Arackniss stated, opting to ignore his siblings until they decided to take the job they were given seriously.

"Guns blazin'." Angel snorted. "Got it."

_"No."_ Arackniss huffed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Repression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk im just here

He takes a breath, lets it go, and pulls the trigger. Ethereal light glows around the bullet that leaves the gun, only diminishing when hidden inside a demon's skull. That was the last one. Another night, another mark, and the Dover house stands hollow. Arackniss sighs, ignoring his siblings' shameless looting as he picks holy bullets out of the bodies. Best not to waste them. They could be reshelled and reused. 

"So, you gonna tell us about your date?" Angel asked, nosy. 

Arackniss grunted, not sure if that's what he would call it. Sure it had ended with a kiss but thinking back on it there was such a great difference in culture between times. Maybe friends kissed each other when Brodie was alive. Arackniss knew for a fact that some friends screwed, his sister having such a relationship with a certain explosive cyclops. He himself was a more of a hit-and-run sort. 

"Still not your business." Arackniss huffed, but his face started up smiling again without his consent.

"And yet you've had a sniper sight on Cherri and the Radio Demon at least once a week since we started seein' them." Molly huffed.

"Wait, you _what?_ " Angel asked, surprised.

"Somebody's gotta fuckin' look out for you two." Arackniss muttered. He was the oldest brother. It was his job to keep the others safe. It always had been since their mother passed. "And I haven't done that in a while.

"Yeah, cuz you've been 'distracted'. Even Dad's noticed." Molly teased.

Angel was still stuck on the last topic. "Don't stalk my husband!" 

"Fuck off, okay?" Arackniss snapped, feeling interrogated. "I'm still tryin' to figure this shit out." 

"You fuck off!" Angel snarled.

"Ugh, boys!" Molly barked. "Lets just clear out, okay? Angel, stop being nosy. Archie, stop fuckin' swallowing your feelings."

"Yes, _Ma._ " Both brothers grunted in unison. 

Molly swatted them both on the back of their heads.

"Ah, you've got it arseways!" Brodie snickered.

"It'd be even if you stopped talking." Arackniss pointed out, mascara wand in his hand. 

They were sitting on the floor of Brodie's room, the hammock having too much sway to be anything but a hinderance to coordination. The thumping bass from the bar below could be felt plainly through their legs but it was less of a headache to be up here helping Brodie prepare than down at his usual table waiting. Helping was an overstatement… The spider had steady enough hands for guns but make up in any capacity was a foreign thing to him. Arackniss had been trying to help Brodie color the fur on his face into something resembling the moustache and goatee of the late Guy Fawkes, but one side wound up lower than the other and the goatee was skewed.

"Well yer not a big talker so I've got to keep the conversation up fer the both of us." Brodie rolled his eyes and took the wand and hand mirror to fix it. 

Brodie's hat was off, which was rare, but it drew Arackniss's attention to the rodent's rounded ears. There were three small but thick gold hoops through one and one hoop through the other. He'd seen them before but could have sworn Brodie had one less the last time he had. Maybe he only thought so because he was actually looking at them properly now instead of just passing glances.

He had asked about the earrings which started Brodie rambling about sailor superstitions of all things. Apparently many sailors had gold through their ears in case they died and washed up on shore so that their body would be buried when found and the gold could be taken as payment. If someone took the gold without laying the body to rest they would be cursed. Of course the entire explanation had come when Arackniss was trying to help with makeup and he would blame that rather than his own lack of artistic ability. 

Brodie managed to even out Arackniss's mistakes easily enough so that it looked like there had never been a mistake at all. He also filled out his eyebrows somewhat, and clipped a few bits of fur along his neck to help square his jaw. It wasn't any big change but it was effective in making his face just a fraction less feminine which was enough. Still beautiful, Arackniss couldn't help but think. 

"Good try." Brodie assured. "Looked awful first few times I did it meself." 

"Looks almost natural now." Arackniss mused.

"That's the point." Brodie said with a grin. "Think I'll leave me hair down this time." He added, pulling the ribbon keeping his hair tied back. 

Brodie tied the ribbon around Arackniss's wrist instead of his own as he usually did. It was a faded thing but looked like it used to be a bright blue before time had dulled it. Something about the gesture stirred in Arackniss's heart, and then something else stirred a bit behind it.

_tk...tk… tk tk tk tk-tk-tk-tk-tk_

Some unused organ puttered into action, producing a sort of clicking that was more felt than heard. It was still audible, though. Arackniss's hands all flew to his chest, surprised and confused.

"What the fuck?" He asked in alarm.

"That you?" Brodie asked, his smile crooked.

"I think?" Arackniss said before nodding as he could definitely feel the thumping in his own body. "Yeah… That's never happened before." 

"Yer not dyin' again are you?" Brodie asked. 

"I don't think so." Arackniss answered, trying to will the odd sound to stop. Eventually it did, but took several minutes. 

Hell did a lot of weird things to a demon's body. Arackniss had gotten used to it all, he thought. His hands and feet stuck to things, he could taste through his hands and smell through his mouth, he could spit silk and his bite could drop a demon twice his size if a fight got bad enough to use it. But never in all his time of being dead had Arackniss felt or heard that particular unknown organ go off.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations between families.

"Have you ever…" Arackniss began awkwardly, picking at some unknown meat at the table in his brother's kitchen. He had figured if anyone would know about bodies doing strange things that it would be someone who had been around a wide variety of bodies. "Started clicking before? Or heard somebody else click?"

"Oh yeah. I used to." Angel answered easily. "Val trained me out of it cuz he said it was creepy so I don't think I can anymore."

"Well now I _have_ to kill him." Alastor called from where he was leaning against the counter, holding Nuggets and patting the pig's belly.

"Don't." Angel rolled his eyes before returning his attention to his brother. "Why? You start up? This can't seriously be the first time it's happened to you."

Arackniss glanced at Alastor, not sure he wanted to continue the conversation if he had an audience actively listening. Angel noticed and reminded his husband that the pig needed a walk after belly-pats. Alastor took the hint, clipping a leash on to the pig's collar and taking them out. The smaller spider relaxed a fraction, and Angel leaned toward his brother to poke at the ribbon still wound around the other's wrist. Brodie hadn't asked for it back, so Arackniss hadn't taken it off. The attention to the ribbon got the weird clicking organ started up again, and Arackniss snarled through it.

Angel laughed. "You _are_ serious!"

"I'm always serious." Arackniss huffed, trying to get the clicking under control.

"It's kinda like purring." Angel explained, finally. "Just means you're really fuckin' happy."

"That don't sound like me." Arackniss huffed, finally getting the clicking to stop, leaning back in his chair and crossing all four arms together.

"Does gettin' married and havin' kids sound like my hoe ass?" Angel pointed out. "Love does shit to your brain. Just roll with it."

"I'm not--"

"Yeah," Angel cut him off. "You are."

"That's a new earring." Tally pointed out, tossing up a string of fairly lights for Brodie to coil around the rafters. "That one welded shut too, honey?" 

It was daytime, so there wasn't anyone in the bar that wasn't working and living there. Queens in dayclothes milled about, getting stage sets together, sewing new outfits or repairing old ones, talking to each other. Brodie was the one who did the more difficult work, taking over the jobs his sisters-in-spirit were unable or unwilling to do. He liked staying busy, so he didn't mind. 

"Course it is." Brodie confirmed. "Not letting some new-age halfwit put shoddy plastic in me ears. It's gold and it's staying put." 

"Uh-huh. How much did it cost?" The rooster teased.

"Came out of me tips. Don't worry Mum. Toss another line?" He called, getting the last of what he had secure and jumping to another beam.

Tally smiled as much as her beak would let her, throwing another set of lights up to the rodent. She reminded him to check the spotlights since one had been shifting on its own lately, an effect of a loose screw which he tightened once he found it. He hopped down, the landing hurting his knees but not enough to be worried about it. 

When Arackniss got inside the door of Tally Hoe's he couldn't help but notice the lights, usually a colorful flashing mess, had softened a bit to be less grating. Looking up he noticed fairy lights, not out of place for holidays but a bit odd for summer, evening out the more active lights. They hadn't been there the night before, but he certainly didn't mind the relief. Migraines only got worse with eight eyes. The music was still too loud and the people a bit too friendly but Arackniss was used to that much by now and the change in lighting, though slight, was very helpful.

It was a few minutes before Brodie would be on he knew. For now he was halfheartedly listening to Tally having a talking point between performances where she shared a silly anecdote about a string of late husbands that may have been false, but most likely was true with some exaggeration for the sake of comedy. To really drive the story home she was wearing razors over the natural spurs at the back of her talons, not at all shy about showing them off. A threat, or warning, and Arackniss couldn't help but wonder why. 

He didn't have long to think about it because a set of leather boots hit the stage and Tally passed the stage to Brodie. Though the music had turned off he was glad the majority of the crowd had joined in the fast song Brodie had begun, because nobody else could hear the fact he'd started clicking just at the sight of the pirate. 

As per usual they met outside once Brodie was done, something of an unsaid arrangement that tended to happen anyway so they could share a smoke. 

"Lights are better." Arackniss said, starting small talk and putting a conscious effort not to let himself click while they were in the quiet. It was embarrassing enough that Brodie had heard it the first time.

"Fixed those meself." Brodie smiled. "Glad you like it."

"First time I ain't have a headache after five minutes." Arackniss said, flicking ash onto the concrete. 

"Good. Maybe you can stay longer." Brodie suggested, knocking into Arackniss with his hip. "Maybe buy a drink for once."

Arackniss smiled and shoved the gerbil's shoulder in retaliation. "I only show up to watch you anyway." He admitted.

"Oh I could tell." Brodie snickered. "It's sweet of you." 

And there went the clicking, Arackniss completely unable to hold it back anymore. Brodie raised a brow, amused, and poked the spider in the chest, where the sound was coming from. Arackniss swatted his hand away, embarrassed. The led to more playful shoving which only escalated until Brodie had Arackniss pinned to the brick wall. Arackniss could win any gun duel but the rodent had the advantage of brute force. Arackniss found he didn't mind.

"Your shift's done, right?" He asked, their faces close enough that he could feel Brodie's whiskers twitch when he answered.

"Aye." 

"You wanna get out of here?" Arackniss asked. "I could do with more of your company." 

It was a horribly transparent offer to come home with him. Arackniss had tried for subtle but fell a bit short. Brodie laughed and nodded, letting Arackniss go so he could lead him to his car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured yall could do with some fluff to make for the shit thats going on in the other stories.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brodie comes home with Arackniss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry for making yall wait so long but have some quick smut.

"Got so many books." Brodie observed aloud, running his finger across the titles in the shelf.

"I got some movies too, if you like those." Arackniss said, shrugging his coat off.

"They're easier to wrap me head around than a stack of scribbles." Brodie agreed, straightening up and doing the same, leaving his hat on the bookshelf. 

Brodie shook out his hair since his hat was no longer holding it. He also started to unlace his vest to unconstrict his chest, letting out a purposeful cough before breathing easier. 

"Doesn't that hurt?" Arackniss couldn't help but ask. 

"Not if I take it off before it does." Brodie dismissed, continuing to take the vest off entirely, leaving himself in just a loose shirt and breeches. 

Arackniss nearly asked what the point of wearing it at all was, but he realized before the thought left his mouth that it might be some sort of disrespectful. Instead he busied himself picking up the clutter around the space of his home. As seemingly laid-back as Brodie presented, Arackniss had picked up on the fact they prefered everything to be orderly. Most of the clutter was just papers anyway. 

He took it to the kitchen, climbing just a bit to set them on top of the fridge. He hopped down to open the fridge, lamenting the fact he had a very limited selection of anything at all. Oh well. That's what happened when he mostly ate out and visited a bar near to every night. 

Having gotten bored in the living room, Brodie followed Arackniss into the kitchen, setting his chin on his shoulder and curling his two arms in between Arackniss's four. Arackniss closed the fridge and sighed, not bothering to turn around.

"I don't know how to do this." Arackniss blurted out.

"What?" Brodie asked, confused.

Arackniss huffed. "I don't know how to care about someone anymore…" He admitted.

"Thats a crock of shit." Brodie said softly. "You care, you just try not to show it. Just like you think a lot but barely say nothin'." 

Arackniss put one set of hands over where Brodie's were on his chest, feeling lips against the back of his neck as he did so. His coarse fur raised a bit in response, only fluffing up further as Brodie pulled him back flush against him. The contrast of strong arms and a soft chest was new but not unpleasant. It was odd to let someone else take control of this specific scenario, however. 

_Well that wouldn't do._

Arackniss quickly locked one of Brodie's arms between both of his right elbows and turned, wrenching the gerbil around and pushing him against the door of the refrigerator. Brodie, caught unawares, barked out a surprised laugh and shoved his rear backward to push Arackniss off balance. It only halfway worked but it was enough for Arackniss to take a step back. 

Brodie turned and swiftly swept his tail, catching Arackniss in the back of the knee to stagger him before grabbing his hair to throw him the rest of the way down. The spider's back hit the kitchen tile and Brodie sat on him to pin him, but Arackniss wasn't bothered. He was _laughing_.

"Was startin' to think you didn't know how to laugh." Brodie said, a bit awestruck by the sound. "I didn't knock yer brain loose, did I?"

Arackniss laughed harder at that, almost to the point of tears. He settled one arms at Brodies hips and one in his hair, pulling him down. Brodie caught on easily, indulging Arackniss in an odd, giggly kiss. It quickly grew heated, and Arackniss pushed himself to sit up.

Brodie scooted back somewhat to let Arackniss undo the fly of his pants at the same time he pulled his own breeches down just enough to get past. Arackniss was hard already, something about the shock of actually being knocked on his ass mixing with who had done so getting his blood pumping surprisingly quickly. Brodie, he found when he sank onto his cock, was just as hot and eager.

Brodie had more control with the position they were in but Arackniss still thrusted up, shuddering as Brodies heat accepted him further. One set of hands stayed on Brodie's hips while his other set wandered. Brodie's hair, his face, his breasts. He couldn't get enough. Brodie groaned, grinding down and catching the spider's own sound in a kiss. Both noticed the clicking had started up, quick and loud. Neither mentioned it.

Arackniss was the one to break the kiss, breathing briefly before starting another only to leave that one too. He moved his attention to Brodie's throat, only catching himself after with the thought that he maybe shouldn't since the rodent's deathmark wrapped around his neck. Brodie froze a moment, worrying Arackniss a moment that he had done the wrong thing. It was an unsaid but deeply respected sort of etiquette in Hell that you didn't touch a Sinner's deathmark unless you were close or they had given you permission. But all was fine as Brodie had stalled only to brace himself to ride the other faster.

It was rough and hard and if anyone had been around to see they might have mistaken the act for angry but to Arackniss and Brodie it was perfect. A bit too perfect.

"Brodie, fuck, I'm…" Arackniss warned.

Brodie ground down close as Arackniss's hips stuttered. Letting him come inside instead of pulling off, and kissing him again. 

"Fuck," Arackniss breathed as he finished, then gently pulled the other gently off his softening cock. "Did you…?"

Brodie shook his head, breathing heavily. "No. But that's alright, I can--"

Arackniss pushed him down, pulling his breeches further down than they already were and hiked one of Brodie's legs over his shoulder. He sucked his clit a moment, careful of his teeth before licking into him. He could taste his own seed there, but found he didn't mind as he alternated between the tasks of cleaning Brodie out and trying to get him off. The hand in his hair was welcomed, a tugging form of guidance as Brodie cried out praise and curses.

Brodie came soon enough, sitting up and sighing.

"Sorry about slicking yer floor…" Brodie said.

"It's tile. Cleans easy." Arackniss answered, wiping his face.

They cleaned up quickly on shaky legs, undressed the rest of the way to share a shower, then fell into Arackniss's bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently between two tops a little mini-fight works as foreplay


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past comes back to Arackniss in an unexpected way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short as shit but this is just to toss in a plot point anyway.

What a novelty it was to go to bed with a man and wake up with a woman. It was a silly thought, but Arackniss always did have an off sense of humor. He could tell with the way Brodie held herself, already awake from Hell's dim morning light. He couldn't place exactly how he knew, but it had something to do with how light her hands felt on his back. When he was a man, Brodie handled everything he did a bit rougher, but as a woman her hands were more gentle. Careful.

Arackniss came to a realisation then. Nothing big, just interesting. Brodie was more often than not a man in the evenings but a woman in the mornings. It wasn't always true but common enough to be noticable now that the spider was giving it thought. He wondered if there was a reason to it. 

Behind him, Brodie was having her own mental wandering as she explored the spider's bare back. There was a small white spot between Arackniss's top set of shoulder blades, centered directly over his spine and appearing a bit like a star amidst his black fur. Brodie didn't touch it directly, but let her fingers ghost just above it. 

"That's where you were shot?" She asked, and the mark glowed red as Arackniss's attention was drawn to it.

"Yeah…" He confirmed, even though the red glow had answered for him. "I didn't even die right away. I was awake for a minute, maybe a little more but I couldn't move, couldn't feel anything from the neck down. Shit, I don't even think I was breathin'." 

Brodie touched her own deathmark, the dark ring around her neck glowing for a moment as well. "I went slow too… Noose is supposed to snap yer neck when you drop but I was too light so all it did was choke me." 

"It was scary." Arackniss admitted. Usually he didn't talk much and never shared any sort of strong emotion openly, but he had held onto the moment for so long and he knew Brodie wouldn't think him weak. "It was just supposed to be a quick weapons deal, to get a truce started with another Family but shit went crazy out of nowhere. Sniper just like mef, of course it was. Just felt a quick pinch in my back and I dropped. Didn't even have the damn decency to really hurt and all I could do was watch while everyone else got gunned down too, even my little sister. She wasn't even supposed to be there, she just didn't want to be left by herself. I couldn't do anything…" Arackniss explained, finally allowing himself to feel the grief several decades late.

Brodie was for once the quiet one as she listened to the other in the dark, running her work-dulled claws through black fur but carefully avoiding that white star. She waited for the crying to stop and the spider's breathing to slow, having exhausted himself the emotions he'd kept bottled for decades. It made sense now, why the spider was always so reserved. He'd lost a lot and still clearly remembered. Brodie's own memories of life were hazy at best and generally full of blanks. It enraged her sometimes when she realised something she should know was just gone but she had always let that rage out as it happened. Arackniss had kept his hidden. 

Finally when he calmed, Arackniss turned over, and Brodie couldn't help but note the matching spot high on the spider's chest. A sign that the bullet had a clean shot all the way through.

"Now that's odd." Brodie muttered, pointing it out. "Sniper shots come from up high and some distance."

"Yeah?" Arackniss agreed, not getting the significance.

"This went through yer spine _and_ yer sternum and stayed damn near horizontal." Brodie continued. "This didn't come from anyone hidin' up high. I'd wager the bastard was stood right behind you."

Arackniss considered the details again, or what he could remember at least. It was true he hadn't seen the shooter but he hadn't had any strangers he knew of to his back. Only his sister and those in his Family. Blood and co-workers, all allies. Or so he had thought at the time. Now he wasn't so sure his trust had been well placed. Brodie was right; A shot like the one that had killed him would have only worked from a gunman on the ground, and right behind him. 

There had been a mole, and given everyone in the Family was dead in Hell barring a few special cases, the mole was still there. Probably even still involved in the Mafia. The only question was who was it? His father would certainly need to know.

Plus, how often did one get the chance to solve their own murder post-mortem?


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arackniss takes the first step to investigating his own murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long

Leon  
Sal  
Giovanni  
Pavi and Paolo  
Frank

Arackniss looked down at the list he’d made, trying to remember everyone that had been with him on his side when he had died. Those he thought had been on his side, at least. He didn’t bother writing down Molly. She had died too, and had been well in his line of sight when she did. Marco was also left out as he had somehow made it to Heaven despite being in the Business.

He was also fairly sure he could cross off Pavi and Paolo; His cousins were idiots at best, good drones but hardly half a brain between them. He also knew they had died that night too, having come to Hell right after him. Then again he figured they might have just been lucky enough to see something he hadn't. They were worth talking to so he didn't strike them through just yet. 

It was during this wondering when Brodie leaned over his shoulder, looking at the paper curiously. "Grocery list?" She asked, knowing what a list looked like even if the letters meant nothing to her.

She also may have been making a dig regarding the empty refrigerator.

"Somethin' like that." Arackniss chuckled, leaning back against the rodent. "Tryin' to figure out who I need to talk to before I let the Boss know I was an inside hit."

"Yer already dead." Brodie pointed out. "Does it still matter?" 

"Matters to me." Arackniss shrugged. "Plus the bastard had to have followed us down. Dad oughtta know he's workin' with traitor."

Brodie nodded thoughtfully then grinned. "Well then it matters to me! Anything I can do to help?"

"I'll let you know." Arackniss answered, his clicking starting up without his say-so. He really needed to learn to control that…

He took Brodie home shortly, spending his free time after writing down every detail he could remember about the night he had died. It had been a weapons deal with the Nicoletti Family, meant to be a truce but turned out an ambush. Looking back Arackniss supposed they should have expected something like that. Always a chance for things to go sour, that's why you never showed up alone. Arackniss had had several trusted members with him; Uncles, cousins, and a few who may have not been direct blood but no less a part of the Family. 

He kept thinking in circles, wondering who to talk to and how to go about doing to. He couldn't just flat-out _ask_ 'Hey, did you shoot me and if so, why?' He also couldn't go back to Earth to check the scene where it happened. Even if he could, it had been over half a century. Nothing would be as it had been. 

Motive was the first thing Arackniss really had to go on. Had he really pissed any of them off that badly? Had it been a paid hit? Was it even personal, or just a means to get the fastest draw out of the game first? What did his death even accomplish? Sure being the Boss's son allowed for some privileges but he had always just been a soldato. He was no one of real authority. Arackniss was good for carrying out orders, not giving them. Still, he had been the first shot, the catalyst for a full standoff that had the Altobellos and the Nicolettis at each other's throats even post-mortem. 

What had his death accomplished, really? Arackniss didn't know. He'd been in Hell and missed the aftermath of it. Had it even mattered or was it just another shootout, unfortunate but common enough to overlook. The sort of thing that was horrifying to hear about the first hundred times but eventually faded into just noise. He cared more when it was someone else, he realised. When it was him it felt more like half a puzzle, half a job. Still, Henroin needed to know, so Arackniss needed to figure it out.

“Hi Frank.” Arackniss said, stepping into the diner.

“No rat today?” The scorpion

“She’s a gerbil.” Arackniss sighed, rolling his eyes. “And no. Do you know where Pavi and Paolo are?”

“Doin’ their fuckin’ job.” Frank answered. “What have _you_ been doing?”

“I cleared out the whole Dover house. I’ve had scopes on two different people at least once a week each waitin’ for a reason to pull the trigger. I’ve kept an up-to-date inventory on holy metal, which we’ve lost enough of in the past month to make around thirty bullets give or take which I need to look into.” Arackniss listed off on his fingers. “Paolo's real free about bullets so I'm talkin' to him first. Boss’s orders.” He added with a wry smirk, lying coming fairly easy since he knew Frank wasn't going to waste his time double checking with Henrion if there really was a loss of metal.

Frank scowled. “They’re staking out the old place that used to be the RIPoff Casino. Seein’ if it’s worth fixin' up and convertin' into a workshop.” 

"Right." Arackniss said, turning and leaving the diner. He could have questioned Frank but the scorpion seemed in a bad mood which put Arackniss in a less passive mood. Just a bad time. His cousins were much easier to talk to than his uncle anyway, he mused as he got back in his car to go see them.

The condemned former casino was boarded up, all lights off. Not a great place for business as it was but a few renovations and it would have been a nice place to get some laundering going. Weapons could be made in the basement. Cheap drugs could be gotten from most vending machines in Hell but the mafia had people making classier, cleaner, stuff that could make a mint in a place like this. Arackniss could see the appeal to it as he looked around the crumbling interior.

Sat on one of the stools near a row of slots were two demons. One of their faces was vaguely illuminated by the screen of a hellphone, tinny music coming from the speaker as the demon typed.

"Turn that shit down." The other said, his voice tired.

"Fuck off." The other answered.

Both had grey fur, laden with yellow spots and wore clothing that almost matched aside from small details. The one with the phone, turning the volume louder out of spite had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The one annoyed by the music genre the other had picked, was wearing a necktie and had a cigarette in his mouth. Only the one was smoking, but both were exhaling the bitter smelling smog.

"Sittin' on the job?" Arackniss said, making his presence known. 

"Hey!" The smoking one, Paolo, greeted.

"Done bein' a stranger, Archie?" The one with the phone said after pausing his music, Pavi.

"Oh, you turn it down for him." Paolo said, a hint of bitterness.

"He don't elbow the shit outta me all day." Pavi shrugged, and stood…

…Which required Paolo to stand as well. 

These two particular demons were twins that had died at the same time. Due to this unfortunate timing, as well as the Devil's sense of humor, the two had been fused back-to-back. They had six legs and eight arms between them. Some things they could claim their own; two hearts and two nervous systems, but had to share other things such as their lungs and stomach and liver. Treated as a unit, they had been nicknamed ZigZag. To family they were still just Paolo and Pavi, just as Arackniss was just Archie.

"Somebody send you to check out the place too? Pretty snazzy, ain't it?" Pavi beamed, making no small hints that it had been his idea to give the place a chance.

"Could be." Arackniss agreed. "But I just came to ask… How much do you two remember about when we died?"

The conjoined spiders were both stunned at the question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If yall want a visual of Pavi and Paolo here you go!  
> https://bayouboy-alastor.tumblr.com/post/636258902770663424/paolo-and-pavi

**Author's Note:**

> That writer feel when your OCs become sentient and just...do shit...


End file.
